The American Gray goose is simply a larger version of the Western
Gray. While it has never had an official standard it shows the general
conformation of the American Buff goose, which essentially sprang from it. In
fact this breed is far more uniform than many more recently developed breeds.
Some American Buff strains were perfected with the use of Buff Pomeranian blood
and the Pomeranians may have been the original source of the Buff gene. The
Pomeranian was certainly one of the influences that differentiated the American
Gray from the English Gray, which was its primary ancestor.

Years ago I wrote an article promoting the recognition of the Gray
goose. As far as reader reaction, it was one of the most popular things I ever
penned. Calls, letters and contacts at shows followed, all positive. (This was
before the APA recognized any of the Pomeranian group. A number of
correspondents wanted to start a similar movement for Pomeranians as well). A
lot of people liked the idea, but everyone, including me, waited for someone
else to do it. Reactions included suggestions. One caller pointed out that
some Grays have orange bills and pink legs, like Western Graylags, and others
have both orange bills and legs, like many western domestics. The suggestion
was that the standard for the Gray should match that of the American Buff. This
made sense, until I mentioned the idea to Bruce Lentz, who explained things.
Different varieties are not required to match in leg color. Bruce felt that a
recent derivative like the Buff goose should not be allowed to set the standard
for the original historic type. He also believed that the orange-legged
individuals were suspect for purity and largely a recent (20th century)
development.

It does make sense that a breed that is simply a large domestic
Western Graylag should match the Western Graylag in color. The American Gray is
obviously very closely related to a number of European landraces. Historically
gray has been the predominate color of domestic geese. Despite some very old
white strains and types, only in recent years have white geese been at all
competitive in numbers. In North America gray geese dominated the scene through
the 1960s. Those gray geese included Toulouse, Gray Pomeranian and common or
American Gray. Even by themselves the American Gray were the most common goose
in North America and had been since colonial days, even before the Toulouse was
widely known by that name or had reached our shores. The Toulouse reached North
America in the 1850s and the Embden arrived in the 1820s.

The American Gray is predominately descended from the English Gray
(in its early or original form) but with at least some other largely similar
influences. The American Gray goose is the kind that Oscar Grow was talking
about on pages 90 and 91 of Modern Waterfowl Management.
"Throughout older goose-raising areas there are still to be found numerous local
breeds that retain some following, though less widely kept, because of the
inroads of improved varieties. Many are scarcely known outside their immediate
environs but are retained more as a matter of association than for economic
excellence, although their economic virtues are not lacking." Actually,
"improved" often means larger, not always an economic virtue. Mr. Grow, who was
the nations's foremost Toulouse breeder for many years, only mentions Grays so
far as is needed to distinguish them from Toulouse. He promoted breeds like the
Brecon Buff and Pomeranian in North America that are similar to our Grays in
size and production qualities. He also promoted the smaller Roman geese.

On page 107 of his book Mr. Grow complains, "so many gray-plumaged
geese . . . have been accepted as true Toulouse. This confusion has been
aggravated through the devious advertising of hucksters who designate their gray
geese as 'farm type Toulouse, business Toulouse and utility Toulouse'." He is
right, there can't be but one true type for a breed. While Grays are not
Toulouse and have an entirely different type and background, they were certainly
the farm type, business type and utility goose in this country. In areas of
heavy German settlement they were replaced by Pomeranians but were never
seriously threatened as the nation's working goose until after 1970 when geese
were no longer important in U.S. agriculture. The traditional family farm was
rapidly disappearing and there was a strong commercial bias for white poultry.

Mr. Grow points out that other than the Chinese the Toulouse is
considered the best layer of the standard breeds and brags that for more than 50
years his Toulouse averaged more than 60 eggs per season and maintained a
hatchability rate of more than 54 percent (actually a very good fertility rate
for Toulouse). He fails to mention the non-standard Grays often match or exceed
the production figure and generally have far higher fertility rates, in excess
of 90 percent. As a promoter of Toulouse, Mr. Grow's failure to dwell on the
Gray is perhaps understandable. The fact that his Pilgrims, touted as a
practical fowl of an ideal size, is in reality an American Gray with an
auto-sexing gene, both further explains and makes his failure to cover the Gray
in detail hard to understand.

Modern Waterfowl Management is hardly the first book
to fail to give much notice of the Gray goose. Harry Lamon and Rob Slocum in
Ducks and Geese (1922) refer to the geese kept on most farms as "of
no definite breed or variety." They suggest that these geese "have probably
arisen as the result of the crossing of the standard breeds." Bruce Lentz felt
that he knew better. He saw this as the writers' attempt to help their friends
in the poultry industry. Dale Rice, who I believe as a young man talked with
Mr. Lamon, said that Lamon was a genetic expert and skilled breeder but knew
very little about poultry history. Although John Norris was talking mostly
about chickens at the time, he observed that people think poultry writers are
experts but all too often they are just writers. It certainly makes sense that
a breed that has been well established for nearly four hundred years has in fact
been the dominant breed for most of that period should be recognized.

Though they were never as common as the Gray, and only in the late
twentieth century did they become anything like common, there have been American
White geese also. The Whites are confused with the Embden much as Grays are
confused with Toulouse. The type is not as distinct in this case. The main
difference is in size. The White goose shows the type of the Gray and is
proportionally shorter bodied than the Embden.